Thyestes | Sydney Festival & Carriageworks

So there I was, it was designated seating at of one of Sydney’s newer theatres – I say newer but really – it’s just one of the newer spaces converted from older industries sauces/stables/salt – you know this one used to house trains until some guy thought it was an awesome idea to give all the traveling gypsies of the performance scene a proper home – yeah? Well anyway, there I was, somehow seated at the top of the wall of heads ready to look at/listen to a show, when I noticed I was seated right in the middle of the row – with my date, yeah, my um… boyfriend can I call him that? Yeah, I can. He’s called me worse – and then I noticed that the people on either side of me was seated two seats away from me. Martin Portus from Currency House – you know it? Yeah it’s one of my favourite things in the arts – besides those mini pies you sometimes get at the Opera House for a post show/pre-review snack on opening nights. you know the ones? Green paste on top. Peas. yeah.I think its peas. yeah it’s ok. – Anyway. So there I was, James Waites seated right on the end – up in the heavens – me separated from everyone by two empty seats. I was like “woah, this could make me paranoid – I’ve I’ve been exiled by the publicist” – but I’m not one to be defeated by lemons, I’m makin’ lemonade , so I strike up a conversation with Martin – and Martin said something cool in response- like he usually does – yeah, he’s cool. Then I noticed James relocating to an empty row of seats closer to the middle so yeah, I just was like “carpe diem” and we crashed it. Whatever. So sitting there. E9. Row E. Yeah, I’m talking about E. Epic. Epic mid-row seating. And it’s all fine.Yeah, I’m comfy.

What?

WHAT?

What do you want from this review?

You want a structure? A nice turn of phrase?

You want to know if you should see it? Spend that cash you could spend on a case of Victorian Bitter? VB, yeah? The original VB perhaps – you know with the good-looking antiquey label – can you still get that in NSW or is that a metro-Melbourne only thing?

Or are you one of the artists who made it? You made it and you’re checking for your name to see what I’ve written about you? Simon Stone, Thomas Henning, Chris Ryan, Mark Winter, Claude Marcos, Govin Ruben, Stefan Gregory, Anne-Louise Sarks. There. There’s your name.

You know, this reviewing stuff – well it’s tricky… a bit like making a show – you think, “what have I got to offer that hasn’t been said by better, older, wiser, smarter, more scholarly, more caring, more patient people who spell-check their reviews – such as

So everyone’s trying to make sense of this show they saw. there are surtitles that sort of give you a heads up to the scene ahead. But WAIT!

There’s also a book you get so you can read along so you can see when Chris Ryan says the line the way they wrote it on that day they wrote it – or estimated it when it went to print… but I’m sorry, there’s no chime to let you know when to turn the page. And the performers will/might deviate from what is written in the book.

Hey, remember this?

READ ALONGS!

Yeah, anyway.

So, we all know – there’s lots to snigger at in the theatre. Penises often get a good giggle. Look, they’re fun. I like them. I like people who host them. But though they may make some feel powerful or important – to me I think under some lights I start thinking about the muppets. Especially this one.

Also, quite nice to note that no women were exploited in the making of this piece of theatre.

Now, let’s talk about art for a second. What’s it there for? Well…

Um…

To keep artists employed and non-artists baffled?

NO! WRONG ANSWER.
(Though that does happen, sometimes)

It’s to reflect the world and ideas in/of/about the world.

Does The Hayloft Project’s Thyestes do that?
SHIT YEAH.

SO THE PLAY…
Is it about Thyestes?

Um no. But who cares. It’s lots of fun. It’s a show which is a bit naughty – a bit surprising a bit provocative. A bit clever. But it’s more about art – the ambition of/toward unique bright ideas. It’s about making fun of the establishment/challenging it – and Opera – funny how this work is MADE by the Establishment (i.e Belvoir’s Resident Director, SIMON STONE) – so he’s um … sorta making fun of himself, ain’t he?

And why not?

A true artist in his position would. Only a bureaucrat wouldn’t.

And so audiences are impressed – not sure how or why – looking to reviewers for answers.
Well, I reckon the most important thing I can offer you is this:

Hey Stephen,
Glad you enjoyed the review. It’s the culmination of over 30 years of research and thinking about art and ancient Greek characters.
I also read the Director’s notes. Did you know that grapefruits are an intergral part of theatre-making? I didn’t, but I do now.
If Thyestes ever appears in Adelaide, I recommend you see it. It is brilliant.
best regards,
Augusta

Okay, so I re-read this because I knew there was a couple of questions I needed to ask:

– was there really giggling at penises in your audience? Because, from memory, when the penises came out (LOL), I thought the situation was too dramatic for giggling
– when did Simon Stone become Belvoir’s Assoc Director? Because when this piece was devised at the Malthouse by the Hayloft Project, I would have said they were part of the “establishment”, though were on their way

And I think I’m far enough away from having seen the spaghetti and meatball scene to actually try that recipe now 😉

RE: Penises – a few giggles/sniffles at penises and dildos – some very surprised faces… but there is a reaction to penises which always trigger fascination – whether or not it is acknowledged.

RE: Simon Stone’s Belvoir Position – well I got this wrong – it’s now corrected in the response. Stone is actually the Resident Director at Belvoir – the Associate Director is Eamon Flack. An egregious mistake on my part. I don’t know when he became Resident – wikipedia says it happened in 2011 – but the Melbourne uni alumni mag says July 2010 – So the answer is I don’t know. BUT the choice to re-mount this work- especially in his new context is very adventurous and brave. But he IS a part of the establishment. (Which can be contrasted to Kosky’s early work in garages and site specific Melbourne places). Even the placement of that show’s development, housed in the Malthouse is a part of the establishment – so either way – I think it’s an interesting artistic comment and context.

As a mostly-vegetarian (mainly to avoid running the risk of inadvertently eating my own kin) I haven’t had meatballs for a while – but who could go past Jenn’s description?

Augusta Supple

Sydney-based theatre director, producer and writer. This site is about my long, deep, bright-eyed, ever-hopeful, sometimes difficult, always invigorating, rambunctious, rebellious, dynamic and very personal relationship with Australian Arts and Culture... I reflect on shows, talks, essays, writing, artists that inspire me to say something, and you'll find out what I'm working on, who I'm working with and what inspires me.